Environmental Planning

As part of the Planning Department, Environmental planning staff strive to foster public confidence in sustainable planning practices, ecosystem considerations in land use planning and the creation of a balance between ecosystem health and development.

Environmental planning responsibilities include:

To address issues of ecosystem protection and conservation and collaborate across City departments to develop and recommend sustainable planning policies.

To work with the community to foster stewardship, provide education and outreach opportunities and collaborate on projects which assist in the creation of a culture of sustainability.

To provide liaison with other government agencies, industry, business and non-profit organizations.

The following links provide information on provincial and federal regulations and best management practices, City policy, programs, initiatives and opportunities for community input and involvement:

West Nile Virus - No Current Control Program
Vernon’s West Nile Virus Risk Reduction Program Brochure is available here for download. It is also available at City Hall. Please note that while the risk reduction information and WNv facts remain accurate, the City and BMP Consulting are not currently undertaking mosquito control.

In past years, the City has applied for and received funding under the West Nile Virus Risk Reduction Initiative. This took place intermittently between 2005 and 2011. Since its inception, BWP Consulting Inc. (BWP) has conducted the West Nile virus (WNv) program in the Vernon. The WNv Program was entirely funded by grant money made available by the BC Ministry of Healthy Living and Sport and administered through the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM).

In early 2012, the UBCM received notice from the Ministry of Health that routine annual mosquito larviciding is no longer warranted as a precautionary risk reduction measure against the human West Nile Virus infection and outbreaks. This follows a recent BC Centre for Disease Control review that included summer 2011 findings. It was concluded in this review that “it is unlikely that WNv levels in BC will ever reach those seen in other areas of Canada or the US that have experienced large, protracted outbreaks (e.g. Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Idaho).” As a result, the Ministry of Health will not be distributing funds in 2013 to local government, via UBCM, for larviciding and other WNv mitigation activities. The Ministry has stated that if ongoing WNv surveillance indicates there may be an increased risk of a local human WNv outbreak, then residual UBCM WNv funding should be made available for local governments to conduct larviciding at short notice, as determined by the local medical health officer and approved by the Ministry of Health.